Fluke
by Hazelcough
Summary: A clever ploy to get closer to the supposed “woman of his dreams” goes awry when the girl Syaoran pays to aide in his endeavor starts to fall for him. Full summary inside. SxS.


**Full Summary: **A clever ploy to get closer to the supposed "woman of his dreams" goes awry when the girl Syaoran pays to aide in his endeavor starts to fall for him. Now a maid in her own house, Sakura takes all possible measures to regain control of her own life while Syaoran struggles to compromise with his family and his own emotions – which becomes quite hard to do when he constantly finds himself in awkward clichés with the girl he's living with.

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**Fluke**

**Prologue: The Opportunist  
Disclaimer: **CSS is property of CLAMP.

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_It's not stalking_, Syaoran reminded himself for the twentieth time that morning as he strolled past the quiet, empty houses. Stalking? No, a guy like him didn't need to stalk a girl to catch her attention. Not at all. It was simply creating an opportunity - a moment to meet her…and sweep her off her feet… Yet something about the situation made Syaoran's nerves tingle. Excitement? He nodded to himself. Yes, that had to be it.

The first time Syaoran saw Meiling was on one of his many business ventures. He had immediately taken a fancy to the girl and the doors she opened up for him; his senior companion, Hiiragizawa Eriol, was the one who pointed the busy receptionist out to him. "She's quite fiery, though," he had cautioned, eyeing the girl's interesting appearance with unease.

"No problem," Syaoran muttered under his breath. Drastic measures needed to be taken.

Five weeks ago, the Li Clan elders had finally put their feet down – Li Syaoran was going to produce an heir…whether he liked it or not. After many dates with potential "child-bearers", Syaoran decided that the elders would never match up to his taste in women. So he took matters into his own dirty, scheming hands. He would find a wife, yes…but his choice would enrage the elders. He would make sure of that.

Meiling was the perfect match for that position. Slender and womanly, the young twenty-two year old had an exotic type of beauty, with hair flowing sensually down to her rounded rear. Her figure was just the type Syaoran liked – a plus. But the feature that made her most qualified was her jewelry. The stuff was everywhere. Earrings, studs, plugs – the sheer amount of piercings she had tainted her body with was appalling. Even at a "mature" age, Meiling never lost her dark eyeliner, her pyramid studded belt or even her chains. Tattoos ran down the length of her arm and various other regions that Syaoran only dared venture to in his dreams.

Syaoran was surprised she had even graduated from college. But then again, with the size of her bank account, anything was possible. _Li Meiling. 22. Chinese. _Syaoran refused to believe that Meiling had any distinct blood connection with him. Li, after all, was a popular Chinese family name, considering its royal origins in the Tang dynasty.

Courting her was a problem, however. It had to be discreet so that the elders would not be able to dispose of the girl before Syaoran could make a move. Weaving a meticulous plan, he decided to use his abundance of money…and Meiling's struggling neighbor.

Any good stalker – no, opportunist – knows how to conduct their research. Syaoran was a good opportunist. Walking casually down the private street, he lowered his sunglasses and took yet another discreet glance at his notepad. _Kinomoto Sakura. 20. Japanese. Attends Cornell University. Currently struggling with mortgage after mysterious death of father and brother._

He snorted_. Mysterious death, my ass. Probably drug dealers._ How else would the poor archeologist single father of an Ivy League student be able to afford a house in such a luxurious neighborhood? He continued his last-minute scan of the page. _Usually available from nine to ten AM, before classes._

Syaoran's lips curved into a feral smirk as he approached the large yellow house with the unkempt lawn and the dusty windows. One thin finger reached tentatively for the doorbell. **_This is going to be fun._**

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Sakura woke at exactly nine o'clock, when her annoying siren-of-a-doorbell started jingling. She glowered at the ceiling for a while, rubbing her temple.

"Kami-sama...not on my day off." The annoying "ding-dongs" continued. Sakura groaned and, without bothering to change, headed for the door. Her nightgown brushed lightly against her creamy white legs as she trudged sleepily across the polished wooden floor. She opened the door - just a crack.

And then she stared.

"Who are you?" she remarked bluntly, scrutinizing the unfamiliar face and squinting - the sun was at its peak. Sakura could detect the shadow of a smirk playing around the boy's - no, man's - perfectly shaped lips. Actually, it wasn't only the lips. His entire being radiated confidence. He was a man who was very aware of the fact that he was gorgeous. And he was willing to use it.

"Li Syaoran," he replied casually, stretching out a firm hand. Syaoran smiled innocently. "I have a business proposition for you."

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Oh! Are you a relative of Meiling-chan?" Syaoran cursed inwardly. _They weren't supposed to like each other...and they definitely weren't supposed to be friends._

But nonetheless, he held his smile in place. "You know Meiling?" Syaoran shot back, avoiding her question.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, she's really kind to me." A pause. "So what's this business proposition? I really don't have much money to work with right now..." She could've sworn she saw a glint of a predator in the man's eyes. A sexual predator? A sadist? Both?

"That's no problem at all," Syaoran replied knowingly. He looked down at his notepad, feigning interest in its contents. "I work with R.G. Homes, and I have seen that you've had trouble with your mortgage." Sakura felt heat rising visibly to her face. With a discreet smirk, Syaoran continued. "No friend of Meiling should have her house taken away. So I'm offering to buy your house - in full."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Li-san -"

"Call me Syaoran please," he cut in smoothly.

"Eh..." Sakura faltered uncomfortably. She wasn't used to sudden intimacy. "Do you know why none of the houses on this block are for sale?" Syaoran shook his head. "We've - well, with the exception of Meiling - have all lived here for generations. Even if someone here was bankrupt...destitute...they would still fight to keep their home." Her voice hardened. "I, Li-san, will do the same."

Syaoran's smile fell off his face. **_If this keeps up, I'll need to get physical._** "But Kinomoto-san -"

Sakura's green eyes snapped up, now fully awake. "How do you know my name?"

"Like I said, I work for the -"

"No, this house is under my mother's father...my grandfather's name." Sakura stared at the strange man. "Like _I _said...generations. So tell me the truth this time. Who the hell are you?" In her suspicion, Sakura had unconsciously opened the door...fully.

"I...er..." Syaoran was too busy with other things to produce a coherent answer. Confused, Sakura followed his gaze and yelped, reaching over to slam the door.

He grabbed her arm with a low growl. The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. "Hoee..." Sakura couldn't help but let the noise escape from her throat. _So he _is_ a sexual predator..._

Syaoran ignored the weird sound. If he had known that he would be hearing the noise on a regular basis, he probably would've pulled his tousled chestnut hair out. But of course, those types of things are never predicted in advance.

"You will let me into this house, Kinomoto Sakura," he growled dangerously, his face only centimeters away from her terrified eyes. "Because if you don't, I can show you the true meaning of hell."

"I'll call the police!"

"I own the police."

Sakura's eyes widened. Then, in a whisper: "Who. Are. You?"

"Someone you should be scared of."

"Well then, you've accomplished that," she snarled. "But I can't give up my house."

He let go of her arm, ignoring the purple bruise that had formed. Groaning in frustration, Syaoran's gears began to spin. _What if... _"You're getting evicted in a few weeks, Kinomoto. If I offer you money, would you let me stay in your house?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I barely know you."

"It would be a boss-to-worker relationship. A professional one. Because you're getting paid," Syaoran explained coolly. "I'll pay you grandly for your services."

Sakura felt her cheeks turning red with anger. "I'm not that kind of person, Li -"

"Your services as a maid," Syaoran added nonchalantly. "It won't be hard. I won't be home a lot, anyways."

"Oh, so you're already calling my house 'home'?"

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "And if I was?" Sakura growled, frustrated. She couldn't give up her home. She couldn't give up the memories of her deceased father and brother...yet...if she were to continue attending the university, she would definitely be evicted. If she dropped out...Sakura shook her head. She couldn't drop out. Not after all of the stress and pain she had to go through. She wouldn't throw it all away.

Sakura bit her lip tentatively. "Fine. But we will have to make a contract. Six months. One hundred thousand dollars."

"Is that all?" Syaoran almost laughed at all of the possible situations she had missed. But none of it concerned him, anyways, as his focus was on Meiling.

"Yes, one hundred thousand," Sakura replied naively, misinterpreting his question, "Li-sama," she added for good measure.

"Then it's a deal, Sakura-chan."

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**Author's notes: **A bit different from what I usually write…yet not so much. This is a definite M rating for uhm...compromising situations. Yes, I gave up to the little plot bunny in my brain that told me to start another fic x-x. I'm doomed.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the pilot chapter : D. I'm kind of scared about the quality of my chapters these days. Reviews would be nice (:.

Heh, the original title of this story was "Maid For You". I must have been on crack xD.


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